High court tells DIG East, SSP Malir to act lawfully

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the deputy inspector general (East), the senior superintendent of police of District Malir and others on a petition of a citizen against harassment, and directed them to conduct themselves strictly in accordance with the law in respect of 17 acres of land in Scheme 33 in Karachi.

The direction came during the hearing of a petition of Iqbal Ahmed against police and revenue authorities for allegedly facilitating a land grabber in encroaching upon his 17.8 acres of land in Sector 27-A, Deh Songal, Scheme 33, in the Gulzar-e-Hijri area.

The petitioner’s counsel, Ishtiaq Azam, submitted that police were patronising the land grabber and threatening his client and his client’s watchman in respect of his land. He requested the court to restrain the police and revenue officials and the alleged land grabber from harassing, blackmailing and threatening the petitioner and his watchman. He also requested the court to restrain them from taking any coercive action against the petitioner without due course of law in respect of the piece of the land in any manner till final disposal of the petition.

Issuing notices to the DIG East, the SSP Malir and others, the high court called their comments on February 13 and in the meantime directed the official respondents to conduct themselves strictly in accordance with the law. The court however observed that police and other respondents were at liberty to take legal and lawful action.